AMERICAN TUNNEL RATS IN THE VIETNAM WAR
From Greek and Roman hideouts in abandoned mines, trenches on the Western Front of WWI, and burrows used in the Pacific Theatre of WWII, to underground bunkers used in Middle Eastern conflicts today, tunnel warfare has been used for thousands of years. Perhaps no tunnels were more infamous or effective than the tunnels used by the Viet Cong (VC) soldiers of North Vietnam in the Vietnam War. It was for this set of tunnels that the United States military developed special procedures for exploring and destroying enemy tunnels. Some tactics, such as B-52 carpet bombing and dredging up dirt with Rome plows, were successful in destroying surface level tunnels, but only courageous soldiers known as Tunnel Rats were able to dig deeper, literally and figuratively, to collect intelligence, capture VC adversaries, and destroy entire tunnel complexes with carefully placed explosives. Tunnel Rats proved to be indispensable counter-tunnel resources for the United States in the Vietnam War, though their job was one of the most dangerous and horrific.
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A broad system of tunnels was one of the best advantages the VC had over US troops in South Vietnam. The most extensive tunnels were located in the Cu Chi province of the Iron Triangle, a VC stronghold just north of Saigon. Guerrillas were able to hide in these tunnels during the many US military operations in the region, popping up and disappearing at will. Tunnels that allowed the VC to choose when and where fighting occurred, greatly frustrated US troops. As the tunnel system expanded in scope and success for the VC, tunnels began to creep closer to Saigon, and even wove their way under US bases. The structure of these tunnels allowed the VC to eat, sleep, heal, and collect intelligence directly under centers of US strategy. Tunnels were divided into multiple levels with firing posts and traps near the surface, and primitive hospitals, barracks, and storerooms deeper into the jungle soil, while multiple entrances and air holes, camouflaged with bamboo and leaves, supplied the tunnel with oxygen.[1] This arrangement allowed VC soldiers to live in the tunnel complex for a week or more at a time, rarely leaving the confines of their burrows. For US soldiers, fighting VC who disappeared into tunnels at a moment’s notice, was like fighting an army of ghosts.
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By the late 1960s, tunnels had become so pervasive in Vietnam that the US military decided it was necessary to destroy tunnels and thereby reduce the ability of VC soldiers to hide. VC had been using their vast system of tunnels to frustrate US troops by popping up in areas that had already been searched and disappearing seemingly into thin air when attacked. Therefore, tunnel destructions were search and destroy missions, referred to as ‘Hole Huntin’’ by the US military.[2] Brochures outlining Hole Huntin’ techniques were distributed to US detachments across Vietnam. Three different types of VC tunnel entrances were described in the brochure: tunnels under bamboo, beach holes, and water entrance tunnels.[3] No matter what kind of hole entrance was encountered, the procedure to destroy a tunnel was always, “Find ‘em – fix ‘em – fight ‘em and finish ‘em.”[4] The ‘finish ‘em’ step included a four part process of its own for destroying a VC tunnel. First, from a generous distance from the hole, soldiers fired a magazine from an M-16 at to discourage VC waiting at the entrance from stabbing or shooting at the Tunnel Rat. Next, soldiers called for any VC in the tunnel to exit or be killed in both English and Vietnamese. A Tunnel Rat was then sent into the tunnel to track down any remaining VC soldiers, intelligence, supplies, and weapons, before grenades or other explosives were deployed at the entrance and various air holes to destroy the tunnel.[5] The brochure states that, “everyone desired to be a searcher,”[6]but the life of a Tunnel Rat was less than glamorous, and widely regarded as one of the worst and most dangerous jobs in Vietnam.
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Tunnel Rats in Vietnam fought with a random assortment of weapons found, through experience, to be most effective in tunnel warfare. In 1966, the US Army began issuing specific ‘Tunnel Exploration Kits’ to troops in Vietnam.[7] The kit consisted of a headlamp with a bite switch to turn the light on and off, a communication system worn around the belt, and a .38 caliber revolver.[8] Unfortunately, there were many issues with the headlamp and comms unit provided in the kit, which had been designed without the input of actual Tunnel Rats. The bite switch often malfunctioned and the weight of the headlamp caused it to slip down over soldiers’ eyes, and wires from the comms system were prone to snagging.[9] These flaws led many Tunnel Rats to compile a mismatched kit of their own equipment. Tunnel Rats favored a small gun, typically their own .45 caliber to minimize injury to the ears from a larger firearm, a flashlight, and a knife or bayonet, all attached to strings leading out of the tunnel, providing a way for Tunnel Rats to retrace their steps and retrieve their weapons. Some Tunnel Rats would also carry grenades fastened to their ankles.[10] Though grenades were effective in tunnels, they were not widely used as the risk of a cave in was too great even if the Tunnel Rat was able to get away from the blast zone in time. For the most part, the tools of a Tunnel Rat were scrounged together and acquired as experience deemed necessary.
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As heavily armed as Tunnel Rats may have been, many dangers remained difficult to combat in the tunnel exploration business. Tunnel Rats C. W. Bowman and Gary Heeter heard horror stories of Tunnel Rats entering a hole, only to find pungee spikes,[11] pit vipers,[12] and swarms of ants.[13] Traps like these made the job especially dangerous and fear-inducing. Bowman said the worst part of the job was psyching up to actually enter the tunnel, knowing he would be susceptible to traps, cave ins, suffocation, and enemy combatants in the dark.[14] It was easy to get lost in the dank maze of tunnels. Tunnel Rat Gerry Schooler became lost during one of his missions, but eventually made it out of the labyrinth, only to be told he had to go right back through to lay fuses so the tunnel could be exploded and destroyed.[15]Though it was the primary goal of the mission, the worst thing for a Tunnel Rat to encounter was a VC soldier, knowing that only one of them could make it out alive. Tunnel Rat Art Tejeda was behind his partner inside a tunnel when they crossed paths with a VC. The VC shot and killed his comrade, and Tejeda returned fire blindly until he was certain the VC was dead.[16] Tejeda had been shot in the side and had to pull himself back out of the tunnel despite heavy blood loss. Dozens of Tunnel Rats died in tunnels during the Vietnam War from fighting VC, a variety of booby traps, and the dangerous nature of the tunnels themselves.
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Tunnel Rats were not officially trained for their position, but several factors played into a soldier’s selection for Rat duty. Tunnel Rats were typically short as VC tunnels were dug for the small stature of young Vietnamese soldiers, whose average age was only 15. Tunnel Rats were also typically of fairly low rank as this was a dangerous and generally undesirable job. One of the critical tasks for a Tunnel Rat was destroying the tunnel by laying fuses, so training in explosives also made a soldier a good candidate for Tunnel Rat duty.
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Galveston native Robert Garcia, a Vietnam veteran interviewed for an oral history project by Texas Tech, was a Tunnel Rat during his year of service in Vietnam. Garcia joined the army at 17 and was trained as a combat engineer and paratrooper, receiving special education in explosives.[17] Deployed to Vietnam in December of 1966, Garcia flew briefly with the Screaming Eagles 101st Airborne Division, which had been a dream of his as a child who idolized the heroes of WWII. However, in early 1967, Garcia was transferred to a line unit where he heard of Tunnel Rats for the first time as he was lowered by his ankles, headfirst into a VC tunnel.
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His combat engineer training in explosives and booby traps ensured that he was the top choice for Tunnel Rat duty in his squad. During one subterranean expedition, Garcia came face to face with an enemy soldier in the tunnel. His .45 hit its mark in the darkness, but the enemy soldier’s body prevented Garcia from advancing farther into the tunnel.[18]Unable to turn around in the confined space, Garcia tied a rope around his own ankles and the neck of the dead combatant, allowing them both to be pulled out by soldiers on the surface.[19] Garcia had pictured his work as a combat engineer to consist of building structures on air bases, not fighting at close quarters in a hole. Eventually, Garcia gained the respect of his comrades and was promoted to the position of Squad Leader.[20] As Squad Leader, Garcia refused to be a Tunnel Rat and avoided putting any of his men through the same experience. Instead of searching tunnels for prisoners and intelligence, Garcia’s squad filled holes they encountered with grenades, blaming the VC buried alive for their own decision to hide in tunnels they knew US troops were targeting.[21]
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Garcia only served one year in Vietnam before returning to the US, but has struggled with PTSD and drug addictions ever since. Garcia blames 75% of his troubles on Vietnam.[22] It was not until 2000 that Garcia was officially diagnosed with PTSD and given specialized help to work though his trauma.[23] Very little assistance of any kind was available to Vietnam veterans in the decades during and after the war due to its status as a sore subject for all Americans. This allowed damaging effects of PTSD to fester in many soldiers and completely debilitate them later in life. Garcia worked as a social worker and addiction counselor in Texas for many years, and now lives with his wife in Baltimore, but he knows, “Vietnam left me half a person,”[24] and he can never get back the full life that was available to him before the war.
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Robert Garcia’s experiences as a Tunnel Rat were terrifying and tragic, but they were not unique. By 1967, General William Westmoreland, commander of US forces in Vietnam, called for all tunnels found in Vietnam to be systematically searched and destroyed. There were not enough combat engineers trained in explosives to attach one to every squad in Vietnam, so one or two infantrymen in each squad would be chosen for Tunnel Rat duty, should a tunnel be discovered. Ken Corey volunteered to be the Tunnel Rat for his squad because the job was dangerous and thrilling; every time he came out alive, he was proud of overcoming something everyone else feared.[25] Unfortunately, Corey’s PTSD would trigger him with images of being buried alive in a tunnel for many years after the war.[26] As the number of Tunnel Rats fighting in Vietnam grew, the US Military launched Operation Cedar Falls in 1967 with the goal of searching and destroying all tunnel complexes in the Iron Triangle. Many tunnels were evacuated and destroyed, but VC forces rebuilt damaged tunnels immediately. Operation Cedar Falls had hardly made a dent in VC tunnel tactics and use of defoliants to clear away the jungle cover soon made it clear that there were far too many tunnels to individually search and destroy; towards the end of the war, many Tunnel Rats were traded for B-52 bombers and Rome plows.
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Despite the later resort to B-52s and Rome plows, Tunnel Rats were always the most effective counter-tunnel tactic available. While carpet bombing and plowing destroyed tunnels along with any information or VC they may have contained, Tunnel Rats were able to collect intelligence and capture VC, both of which could lead to the discovery of more tunnels. Tunnel Rats were depicted in newspapers as courageous soldiers forging a new form of fighting. One article features a quote from Tunnel Rat Robert F. Batten who states, “We’ve improved 100 per cent in the last year.”[27] The Tunnel Rat program was shown to be constantly growing. The Tunnel Rats expanded into two teams who collaborated on reconnaissance and demolitions to complete both jobs in half the time,[28] and new Tunnel Rats were frequently recruited. While the demand for tunnel exploration was increasing, so were the casualties for Tunnel Rats, whose job it was to purposely walk, or crawl, into booby traps. Tunnel Rats had a 33% casualty rate during the war, while the casualty rate for a regular soldier was closer to 10%.[29] To add to the heroism of Tunnel Rats, accounts of VC tunnel destruction was described in exaggerated detail. News of the destruction of a high-tech enemy headquarters sounded more impressive than the destruction of a cramped mud dugout. “On one exploration they found a complex over 350 yards long with eight levels (a drop of 4 or 5 feet at each level) which included a hospital, an intelligence center, supply caches, and sleeping and eating areas.”[30] By referring to different tunnel rooms as ‘hospitals’ and ‘intelligence centers’, the newspaper was able to make it seem as though the Tunnel Rats located and destroyed an entire underground city. In reality, the hospital was most likely an earthen room containing a few stretchers and boxes of medical supplies. However, the destruction of a VC ‘hospital’ was exciting news that inspired more soldiers to volunteer for Tunnel Rat duty in the hopes of destroying an equally important VC asset. Tunnel Rat contributions, though undeniably important, were exaggerated since many missions did not yield complete destruction of a tunnel and VC were able to rebuild tunnels with collapsed entrances. VC use of tunnels in the Iron Triangle area declined after the Tet Offensive of 1968, but persisted through the end of the Vietnam War.
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Stockpiles of food, weapons, and supplies in tunnels grew in the months leading up to the Tet Offensive, but the overwhelming defeat of VC troops in the Offensive meant the abandonment of many tunnels. Today, the largest tunnel complex, the Tunnels of Cu Chi, is open to the public as a memorial of the war.[31] VC veterans lead tours and provide stories of life in the tunnels. Visitors can crawl through tunnels that have been expanded and electrically lit, and see examples of VC booby traps. The tunnels serve as a great monument to the success of the VC in the war, but also memorialize the bravery of Tunnel Rats for thousands of American visitors each year.
American Tunnel Rats proved to be essential in counter-tunnel missions during the Vietnam War. The horrific task of sending soldiers directly into tunnels to collect intelligence, capture VC, and set explosives was the most effective, yet still imperfect, defense the US deployed against VC tunnels. The US military favored search and destroy missions led by Tunnel Rats, such as Operation Cedar Falls, over carpet bombing and land plowing techniques which destroyed tunnels without collecting intelligence or prisoners. Armed with compact, makeshift weapons, the Tunnel Rats faced many dangers in the form of booby traps, snakes, and enemy combatants. Even if a Tunnel Rat made it above ground physically unscathed, tunnel work left lasting effects of PTSD on soldiers who were lucky enough to return home. During the war, Tunnel Rats were praised for their bravery and effective destruction of VC hideouts, but they were much forgotten, along with other Vietnam veterans, after the war had ended. The valor exhibited by the men who called themselves Tunnel Rats should no longer be buried.
1. Tom Mangold and John Penycate, The Tunnels of Cu Chi (New York: Berkley Books, 1986), vii-ix.
2. Ben G. Crosby, “Hole Huntin’: Techniques to Detect, Neutralize and Destroy Enemy Tunnels,” 20 December 1968, Box 01, Folder 02, Sandra Marie Wittman Collection, Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Archive, Texas Tech University.
3. Crosby, “Hole Huntin’.”
4. Crosby, “Hole Huntin’.”
5. Crosby, “Hole Huntin’.”
6. Crosby, “Hole Huntin’.”
7. David Maccar, “Suppressed .38 Revolver Was Made for Tunnel Rats in Vietnam,” Range365, July 27, 2017, https://www.range365.com/suppressed-38-revolver-made-for-tunnel-rats-in-vietnam/.
8. Maccar, “Suppressed .38 Revolver.”
9. Maccar, “Suppressed .38 Revolver.”
10. “’Tunnel Rats’ Fight War in Underground Maze,” The American Traveler, Feb. 25, 1966, Col. Robert R. McCormick Research Center Digital Collection.
11. “Search and Destroy Missions Tunnel Rat Documentary 2017,” YouTube, August 25, 2017, video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4QMin9-Jlc. Pungee traps were made of bamboo poles sharped to a point, meant to impale any soldier who fell into the trap.
12. “Search and Destroy Missions.” Pit vipers were venomous snakes that VC troops would attach by the tail to the roof of a tunnel so any soldier who entered the tunnel would be susceptible to a snake bite.
13. “Tunnel Rats Fight War in Underground Maze.” Colonies of half-inch long ants were collected and released into tunnels to make an uncomfortable surprise for any soldier entering the tunnel. The only defense against this trap was to release a DDT bomb into the tunnel and equip the Tunnel Rat with a gas mask.
14. “Search and Destroy Missions.”
15. “Search and Destroy Missions.”
16. “Search and Destroy Missions.”
17. Interview with Robert Garcia, 23 February 2010, Robert Garcia Collection, Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive, Texas Tech University.
18. Interview with Robert Garcia.
19. Interview with Robert Garcia.
20. Interview with Robert Garcia.
21. Interview with Robert Garcia.
22. Interview with Robert Garcia.
23. Interview with Robert Garcia.
24. Interview with Robert Garcia.
25. “Search and Destroy Missions.”
26. “Search and Destroy Missions.”
27. James L. Marshall, “Want a Tunnel Destroyed? Call Tunnel Rats,” The American Traveler, Nov. 28, 1968, Col. Robert R. McCormick Research Center Digital Collection.
28. Richard Moyes, “Tunnel Rats Expand,” The American Traveler, Aug. 17, 1968, Col. Robert R. McCormick Research Center Digital Collection.
29. Jim Marett, “My Life as a Tunnel Rat,” The New York Times, Feb. 9, 2018.
30. Marshall, “Want a Tunnel Destroyed?”
31. “Search and Destroy Missions.”